Liquid-measuring device



April 21, 1925.

J. D. MERCER LIQUID MEASURING DEVICE Filed April 12. 1924 amen do:J'ames D. flan-er.

Patented Apr. 21, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J). MERCER, or HUGO, COLORADO.

LIQUID-MEASURING DEVICE.

Application filed April 12, 1924. Serial No. 706,007.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES D. MERCER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hugo, county of Lincoln, and State of Colorado, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Liquid-MeasuringDevices; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appe-rtains to make I and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to meters of the type employed in measuringliquids.

In many places and especially where large quantities of gasoline aresold, t often becomes necessary to provide meters that correctly measurethe amount of liquid that flows through a certain pipe. c

I am aware that meters of various types have been invented and I do notclaim to be the first inventor of a liquid meter. I have, however, madecertain valuable improvements in the construction of this type of meter,which it is my object to describe in detail and to claim.

My invention can be best described and will be most readily understoodwhen reference is had to the accompanying drawing in which the presentpreferred embodiment thereof is shown, and in which:

, Fig. 1 is a section taken on line 11, Fig. 2; and

Fig. 2 isa section taken on line 22, Fig. 1.

My improved meter comprises a cylinder 1 within which is movablyconnected the piston 2,.which is provided with a plurality of pistonrings 3. The piston is also provided with axially extending members 4.Secured to the ends of the cylinder are cylinder heads 5 which are heldin place by bolts 6. Each cylinder head has a central opening, withinwhich is reciprocally mounted a rod 7. The upper ,side of the cylinder,which I have designated by the numeral 8, is thickerthan the other partsof the cylinder. The upper surface of the part 8 is flat, in the mannershown. Intake ports 9 extend from points adjacent the central portion ofthe part 8 to the inside of the cylinder near the ends of the same. An

exhaust port 10 opens between the intake ports 9. A D-slide valve 11cooperates with the surface of the side 8 to alternately connect theintake ports with the exhaust port. The arrangement of the piston intakeports, exhaust port and the slide valve is the same as in an ordinarysteam engine. The slide valve is enclosed in a housing 12, whichcorresponds to the steam chestof an ordinary steam engine. This housingis held in place by bolts 13. A groove 14 may be provided adjacent thesurface of the part 8 for the reception of the flanges 15 of the slidevalve. The housing 12 has an opening 16 in one side, which serves toadmit the fluid from the supply source. It is now necessary to providemeans for shifting the slide valve when the piston has reached the endof its stroke and for this purpose the following mechanism is provided:

I provide each end of the housing 12 with an opening for the receptionof a bar 17 which extends inwardly and terminates in cupped ends 18.Ends 18 are slidably connected with the hollow tubular member 19. Thismember has a central transverse partition 20. Springs 21 extend betweenthe partition 20 and the bottom of the cupped ends 18. The tubularmember 19 is also provided with spaced, outwardly projecting lugs 22,between which the upwardly extending portion 23 of the slide valveextends, andwhich transmits motion from the former to thelatter. Thetubular member 19 is also provided with an upwardly projecting lug 24.Pivoted on the bolts 25 are detents having a straight body portion 26provided at one end with a hook 27 adapted to cooperate with the lug 24for the purpose of holding the member 19 against movement. The other endof part 26 is bent at right angles, as indicated by numeral 28. Theportion 28 is forked and straddles the flattened part 29 of the bar 17 Aroller 30 is pivoted between the ends of portion 28. Springs 31 arenormally under tension and tend to move the rollers 30 against the edgeof the part 29. Each part 29 has a cam surface 32 whose function willpresently appear. At a point substantially equidistantly between bars 7and 17 I secure brackets 33 to which I pivot the levers 34. These levershave their ends in contact with the ends of the bars 7 and 17, in themanner The pipe from the source of supply is connected to the housing soas to communicate with the opening 16 and the exhaust port is connectedto the delivery pipe. 'When the parts are in the position shown in Fig.1, the liquid enters the housin through the opening 16 and flows intothe cylinder through the intake port on the right, which is shownuncovered. As the liquid flows into the cyl-.

inder the piston moves toward the left. When it reaches the positionshown in Fig. 1, the part 4 engages the inner end of the rod 7. Anyfurther movement of the piston and the rod 7 will cause the lever 34 to1'0 tate about its pivot and to move bar 17 inwardly. This causes thespring 21 to be compressed. -When the cam 32 engages the roller 30, itcauses the latter to be moved downwardly, thus moving the hook 27upwardly and releasing the tubular member 19, which will move quickly tothe right,

carrying with it the slide valve 11 and thereby connecting the righthandintake port with the exhaust port and opening the lefthand intake portto the chamber within the housing. The liquid will now enter thecylinder in the left of the piston and the latter will then start movingtoward the right. When the piston has moved a predetermined distance theslide valve will be moved into the position shown in Fig. 1.

It is my intention to have the parts of such size and so related thateach stroke of the pistonwill displace one-half gallon so that eachdouble stroke will mean one gallon. The counter is operated once foreach two strokes and therefore registers gallons.

In the drawing the cams .32 and lug 24 have purposely been exaggeratedin size so as to make them more clearly visible. It is my intention tomake these parts as small as possible so that the shifting of the valvewill always take place when the piston reaches the predeterminedposition.

I want to call particular attention to the valve-operating mechanism, asit is to this that my invention is directed.

Although I have stated that it is my intention to make the meter of suchsize that each double stroke of the piston will measure one gallon, I donot want to be limited as to size, as it will often happen that therequirements are such that a much larger capacity is necessary or asmaller capacity suflicient.

'justing means by the numeral 77.

In the drawings the rods 7 have been designated in a more or lessdiagrammatic way. It is, however, my intention to provide each rod withan adjusting means such as is commonly employed in connection with theush rods of automobiles, so that the lengti of the rod can be adjustedand compensation made for wear.

In the drawing I have indicated this ad- Having now described myinvention, what I claim as new is:

1. In a fluid metering device, in combination, a cylinder, a pistonmounted for reciprocation therein, cylinder heads attached to the endsof the cylinder, a housing attached to one side of the cylinder, thewall of the cylinder having intake ports extending from the interior ofthe housing to the ends of the cylinder, said wall being also providedwith an exhaust port openin into the housing at a point intermediate theini take ports, a V-slide valve slidably connected with the side havingthe port openin s, means for moving said slide valve at t e end of eachstroke of the piston, said means comprising a tubular member operativelyconnected to the slide valve, said member having a spring abutmentintermediate its ends, a. sprm in each end of said tubular member, a rodslidably connected to the tubular member at each end thereof, said rodsrojecting through the end walls of the ousing, a lug on the tubularmember, a detent pivotally connected to the housing, said detent beingadapted to engage said lug, resilient means for holding the detent inlug engaging position, means on the rods for moving the detents to aposition away from said lug, and means for making said lastnamed meansoperative when the piston reaches the end of its stroke.

2. In a fluid metering device, in combination, 'a cylinder, a pistonmounted for reciprocat-ion therein, cylinder heads attached to the endsof the cylinder, a housing attached to one side of the cylinder, thewall of the cylinder. having intake ports extending from the interior ofthe housing to the ends of the cylinder, said wall being also 11provided with an exhaust port opening into the housing at a pointintermediate the intake orts, a D-slide valve slidably connected withthe side having the port openings, means for moving said slide valve atthe end of each stroke of the piston, said means comprising a tubularmember 'operatively con-, nected to the slide valve, said member havinga transverse spring abutment intermediate its ends, a spring in each endof said tubular member, a rod slidably connected to the tubular memberat each end thereof, said detent being adapted to engage said 111g,resilient means for holding the detent in lug engaging position, meanson the rods for moving the detents to a position away from 5 said lug,said last-named means comprising cams on the bar for operativelyengaging the detent, and means for rendering the detent-moving meansoperative when the pis-. ton reaches the end of its stroke in eitherdirection, whereby the tubular member and the. 10 slide valve is moved.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JAMES D. MERCER,

